this is bbc news. i'm vicki young. the headlines at eight... the leader of northamptonshire council, which has had to ban almost all spending, so she warned the government their finances was unsustainable. we've been in what you might call a perfect storm of huge increases in demand for our services at the same time as significant reductions in funding coming from central government. it's emerged tonight that two more women have reported harvey weinstein to the metropolitan police over allegations of sexual assault. six migrants have been injured after a gunman opened fire from a car in the central italian city of macerata. the gunman has been arrested. after getting caught in a scuffle with protesters last night, conservative mpjacob rees—mogg accuses the treasury of "fiddling" its figures on brexit. how airlines sit family and friends who haven't paid to sit together is being looked at by the airlines regulator. it's after complaints passengers are being split up deliberately. and ireland pull off a dramatic

victory with the last kick of the game in the six nations rugby, as they beat france 15—13 in paris. good evening and welcome to bbc news. a local council has taken the highly unusual step of imposing emergency spending controls, after saying it's facing severe financial challenges. the move by northamptonshire county council means a ban on all new spending — apart from what's used to protect vulnerable people. the council's conservative leader, heather smith, says the move is a result of rising demand for services and cuts in government funding. it follows warnings that other

authorities are also struggling to remain solvent. our political correspondent matt cole reports. like so many others across britain, people in northamptonshire have watched their council manage multi—million pound budget cuts since 2010, and now they've run out of cash, meaning a host of services from subsidised buses to libraries are threatened. i'll be absolutely devastated if it closes. we've been here forjust over a year and i was delighted that this is kind of ten minutes down the road from us. we just feel, i suppose, let down, and why wasn't anything in place to prevent this situation happening? there will now be no new spending save on services to safeguard the vulnerable until the next financial year. we've been in what you might call a perfect storm of huge increases in demand for our services, at the same time, significant reductions in funding coming from central government. but is this a one—off? english councils say by the end

of the decade they will have seen £16 billion cut from their core central government funding. they say by 2020 there will be a £5.8 billion annual shortfall. what's more, they say they need an additional £1.3 billion now for social care. ministers will point to much—needed efficiency savings made in the same period, but labour says it's time for change. what more evidence do we need? austerity is unleashing chaos across oui’ austerity is unleashing chaos across our country. squeezing our local authorities and putting jobs and the vital services they deliver at risk. when local councils face cuts, people pay the price. in northamptonshire, government inspectors are now investigating the council's financial management, but the conservatives have responded tojeremy corbyn‘s proposals, saying they would deliver less money to people's pockets and hit communities with higher council tax

and worse public services. the government has plans for a new funding system for local authorities to come in at the start of the next decade. alongside that, proposals for councils to be allowed to keep more of the business rate raised locally. but with this year's finance settlement for authorities due to be announced in the coming week, the local government association is calling on the ministry here to provide new funding for all councils now. matt cole, bbc news, westminster. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10.30 and 11.30pm this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are economics commentator dharshini david and journalist eve pollard. scotland yard are looking into two more allegations of sexual assault against harvey weinstein. it brings the total number of women who have reported weinstein to british police to nine.

0ur correspondent ben ando has more on the allegations. it was october the 11th when police we re it was october the 11th when police were first contacted by a woman in this country claiming that she had been sexual assault and by harvey weinstein. there are a further six women who came forward. up to christmas this year, that is what we thought. seven alleged victims making a variety of allegations. what has emerged today though is that on october the 31st, a woman came forward to claim he attacked her in the republic of bali and —— the republic of ireland. 0n her in the republic of bali and —— the republic of ireland. on november 13 last year, another woman came forward and claimed she was attacked on two occasions. 0ne forward and claimed she was attacked on two occasions. one in london in 2011 and another in 2010 in a foreign country. the police are not saying which country that is less salea ble saying which country that is less saleable they will forward the information to the relevant force there. this comes on the same day it firm and made allegations as well. there has been a response from mr

weinstein and his team. —— as uma thurman made allegations as well. she told the new york times that back when she was promoting pulp fiction, made by quentin tarantino but produced by harvey weinstein, she was at the savoy hotel in london when he attempted to sexual assault her. she says it was like a lizard trying to wriggle away from him. she says that came after a similar incident in a hotel in paris. what he has said through a spokesman a p pa re ntly he has said through a spokesman apparently is that he must read the signals she thought —— that he thought she was giving him. six people have been shot in italy in a drive—by attack that police say was racially motivated. it happened in the central city of macerata. all the victims were african migrants — one is in a critical condition. italy's prime minister paolo gentiloni has condemned the attack and said hatred and violence will not divide the country. from rome, james reynolds reports. one man, a 28—year—old italian armed with a pistol,

turned the italian city of macerata into a terrifying place. reports say the gunman fired from his car at anyone who appeared to be a migrant from africa. there was no time for his targets to hide. i was passing by this morning to go and buy cigarettes. when they shot me on my leg this morning, you know. so the person inside the car was shooting, you know. during the attack, the authorities posted warnings instructing the city's residents to stay inside. the gunman was arrested when he got out of his car. he is identified as 28—year—old luca graini. he had been a candidate for the anti—immigrant northern

league party in local elections held in 2017. this attack comes at a time of high anxiety in the city of macerata. earlier in the week, the dismembered body of a young italian woman was found, a nigerian migrant arrested in connection with her death. now migrants have been injured in this drive—by shooting. the country now heads into next month's general election with all this on its mind. james reynolds, bbc news, rome. the government has announced a package of financial support for small companies affected by the collapse of the construction company, carillion. the state—backed british business bank will allocate £100 million in loans. customers worried about repaying mortgages will also be offered help. thousands of suppliers were left unpaida after the firm went into liquidation last month. a syrian rebel group says it shot down a russian fighter plane

near the city of idlib on saturday. the syrian 0bservatory for human rights monitoring group said the pilot ejected from the plane and was killed, but this has not yet been confirmed. video posted on social media appeared to show the plane being hit, while other video showed burning wreckage on the ground, with a red star on a wing. russian fighters have been bombing positions south of the city of aleppo in support of a syrian government offensive. a prominent conservative mp has stepped up his criticism of civil servants at the treasury — accusing them of "fiddling the figures" in brexit forecasts, in order to make the case for the uk remaining in the eu's customs union. jacob rees—mogg, who was caught in a scuffle last night when protesters disrupted a meeting he was attending at the university of the west of england, told the today programme on radio 4 that treasury forecasts about the impact of brexit were "clearly politically influenced". with the referendum, and with the eu, the treasury has

gone back to making forecasts. it was politically advantageous for them in the past, it's the same now. so yes, i do think they are fiddling the figures. 0ur political correspondent is with me now. we know thatjacob rees—mogg is an arch—brexiteer and has been outspoken before. this is a pretty incredible allegations to make. inflammatory language and the second time this wiki is questioned the impartiality of the service, accusing them of cooking the figures. this is about far more than an mp who is happy with treasury figures. as you say, he is an ardent brexiteer than leads a group of tory brexiteers. that group could one day perhaps be doing our undoing of theresa may and herfuture in number 10. sol theresa may and herfuture in number 10. so i think this is about putting pressure on the theresa may as she goes into a difficult week of brexit negotiations rather than complaining just about the figures. we have had

a pretty strong response today from the union which represents singer civil servants, the fda union. as general secretary said that mr rees—mogg had been peddling unsubstantiated conspiracy theories and he called for theresa may to make an unequivocal statement in support of the civil service. the prime minister has to be at the forefront of this. she is the leader of the conservative party and ultimately this is an issue within the conservative party. we have government ministers note undermining the government's own evidence. it is chaos and it will undermine trust over the longer term in the civil service. as you say, and we set a lot, but theresa may is under pressure from all sides. particularly going into next week and yet another crucial few days for brexit negotiations. 0utright. 0n few days for brexit negotiations. 0utright. on monday, michel barnier will be in downing street having talks with the prime minister. and also the brexit secretary. some

really important meetings coming up, the so—called brexit subcommittee, senior ministers getting together over a couple of days to thrash out exactly what kind of relationship the government should be pursuing with the eu after we leave the european union. that meeting is going to beat, interesting to see which way theresa may goes. she backed the ardent brexiteers or side with some in cabinet, like the chancellor, who want a closer relationship with the year after we have left will stop thank you very much. president trump says the declassified memo alleging pro—democrat bias within the fbi is a total vindication of himself in the probe into russian interference in the 2016 election. the fbi insists it's inaccurate. earlier, our washington correspondent, david willis, had more on the president's comments. the president taking to his

favourite medium, twitter, this morning to say, speaking of himself, rather bizarrely, perhaps, in the third person, he treated... —— he tweeted. .. there you are. this comes at the end ofa there you are. this comes at the end of a pretty tumultuous week, which began with the fbi director, deputy director general standing down and ended with suggestions that the president might be about to fire the deputy attorney general, rod rosenstein. he was asked in the oval 0ffice yesterday, the president, if he still had faith in rod rosenstein. the man who actually oversees the robert mueller enquiry into alleged collusion between the

trump campaign and russia. and of rod rosenstein, mr trump replied, you can figure that one out. hardly a ringing endorsement, you would have thought, the very senior law—enforcement official here. where does this leave the investigation into those allegations of collusion with the russians? it clearly isn't over, despite this declassified documents. it is not over. all the indications are that the special counsel, robert mueller, is nearing the end of his investigation. an investigation into alleged collusion, as i mentioned, between the trump campaign and russia. but also into allegations of, the possibility of obstruction of, the possibility of obstruction of justice of, the possibility of obstruction ofjustice on the part of the president. now, robert mueller it seems is wrapping up his enquiry. the indications are leading us in that direction simply because it has

been made public that he's looking 110w been made public that he's looking now to the president himself. there have been suggestions that the president might seek to, at some stage, sack robert mueller. and democrats warn that any such action along those lines would constitute a constitutional crisis. the headlines on bbc news: northamptonshire council imposes emergency spending controls because of what it describes as severe financial challenges. it has emerged tonight that two more women have reported harvey weinstein to the met police over allegations of sexual assault. and the head of the fbi has defended its work after declassified memo was released, accusing it of bias against president trump and abuse of power. sport now...and for a full round up, from the bbc

sport centre, here's holly. very busy day for rugby and football. plenty to talk about and we'll get to the premier league in a minute, but the six nations tournament is under way and what an opening game it was for wales. scotland had high hopes before the match but they were ruthlessly dismantled by warren gatland's side who had a bonus point 34—7 win. joe wilson was at the principality stadium. the six nations is designed to stir you. does it inspire or overwhelmed? joss adams made his debut for wales. —— georgia adams. if you get a chance, snatch it. scotland could see their pre—match optimism disappearing after just six disappearing afterjust six minutes, as gareth davies reached the line. wales led 14—0 at half—time.

scotla nd wales led 14—0 at half—time. scotland tried the fancy stuff and field, wales that the basics brilliantly. leigh halfpenny scored two tries. who saw this coming? not the scotland coach. four tries in a match means atonement bonus point. at its best, rugby is power, pace and agility. in other words, this man. 34—7 final score. so many injured players were missing from this welsh team and they produce a performance like that. wales made everything about home advantage count. quite a match for a debut. england next. ireland snatched a remarkable win over france thanks to a brilliant long—range drop goal by fly—half johnny sexton. the irish had led for most of the game in paris but a teddy thomas try gave france the lead for the first time. however, sexton pulled off his dramatic drop in the 83rd minute to givejoe schmidt's side a valuable 15—13 win. all the latest on the game between

france and ireland. keep your eye on the red button to see how that goes. football now. new signing pierre—emerick aubameyang scored a debut goal and aaron ramsey his first hat—trick as arsenal thumped everton 5—1 at emirates in the premier league. sey was already on scoresheet in the sixth minute with just his fourth goal of the season. three others quickly followed before half—time with tv replays showing aubameyang's effort should have been ruled out for offside. everton substitute dominic calvert—lewin pulled one back before ramsey claimed the first hat—trick of his career, doubling his tally for the season in one match. but it was arsenal's two new faces in january — aubameyang and henrikh mkhitaryan — who caught the manager's eye.

it looks like we have the quality to integrate in the gaming want to play. we are quick, sharp, agile, once the ball. —— want the ball. they are very positive signs. well, one of the players who left arsenal in the january transfer window — alexis sanchez — was also on the scoresheet. he scored a penalty in manchester united's 2—0 win at home to huddersfield.. united, though, are still 13 points behind leaders manchester city who were held 1—1 at burnley. elsewhere, stoke drop into the relegation zone after losing at bournemouth, brighton beat west ham, leicester drew with swansea. west brom are still rooted to the bottom after losing at home to southampton. in the scottish premiership, celtic suffered only their second domestic defeat under brendan rodgers as kilmarnock claimed a 1—0 victory at rugby park. elsewhere, aberdeen closed the gap at the top of the premiership to just eight points after their 3—0 win over hamilton.

bottom side ross county beat dundee 4—1. there were also wins for hearts and hibs while it ended in a draw at fir park between motherwell and partick thistle. tennis now, and britain face an uphill battle in marbella to rescue their world group davis cup tie with spain, after losing in the doubles this afternoon. jamie murray and dominic inglot were beaten in straight sets by pablo carreno and feliciano lopez — which means britain have to win both singles matches tomorrow to be victorious. there's live coverage on bbc two from ten o clock tomorrow. that's all the sport for now. we'll have more for you on bbc news throughout the evening. goodbye for now. thanks very much, holly. three men have been charged with murder after the fatal stabbing of a prisoner. khader saleh died on wednesday at wormwood scrubs prison in west london. ahmed kyre, kalif dibbassey and enton marku, all in their early 20s, are due to appear in court next week.

the snp‘s deputy leader angus robertson has announced that he is stepping down with immediate effect. it comes eight months after he lost his westminster seat. the scottish first minister nicola sturgeon has paid tribute to mr robertson, thanking him for his contribution to the party. the civil aviation authority has announced a review into airlines' seating policies. it follows concerns that some operators have deliberately been splitting up groups of passengers in order to force them to pay extra for allocated seating. some people have complained that they've been victims of the policy and the caa says it won't hesitate to take action if necessary. our business correspondent vishala sri—pathma explained more about the review. if you book a flight on a budget airline, for example, you will be made to pay, sometimes, to sit with yourfamily and made to pay, sometimes, to sit with your family and friends when you go on holiday. so they are looking into whether the seating algorithms are

deliberately done to make people pay extra. today, yougov, the pollsters, have released the results of a servicing that actually, ryanair passengers are more likely to complain of being separated. they have come out and said that the seating policy is very clear and they are happy to dissipate in a review. it cost two euros to allocate the seat that you want on ryanair. they allocate the seat that you want on rya nair. they have allocate the seat that you want on ryanair. they have had quite a few complaints on social media, though. lots of people have been tweeting them. you can go on your twitter feed to find that out. they have dealt with a lot of complaints in the last six months. easyjet, again, very happy to participate. they say they do their best to try and allocate family and friends together. and that is in the algorithm. but that is what the caa are investigating. thousands of demonstrators have been marching through central london calling for more government support for the nhs. in response to the rally, the department of health and social care said they are aware the nhs is extremely busy and extra

funding has already been allocated by the government. at the event — organised by the people's assembly and health campaigns together — health workers and activists spoke about the pressures on the nhs. what i am complaining about is being called everything is fine when it's not. being told its great. i know plenty of people working in health ca re plenty of people working in health care or think it's already dead on its feet and it won't last. but those people refuse to let it go without a fight. nothing pay, terms and conditions have constantly been wound down. activity is up and up and it is killing the profession. and if you're not careful, if we don't do something about it, we're not going to have a narsingh professing left. we need the money and the bees or sees “— we need the money and the bees or sees —— and the resources. we have to look after the public looking after the services. 0ligarchs suspected of corruption will be forced to explain how

they fund their luxury lifestyles in britain. the security minister, ben wallace, has told the times that he wants to crackdown on criminals and fraudulent politicians who use britain to launder money gained through corruption. earlier, dal babu, a former chief superintendent at the metropolitan police, explained some of the thinking behind the new "unexplained wealth orders". i think what they want to do is establish where people have got their money. and if you've got £50,000 or more, that might not affect the mass majority of us, then they won the opportunity to ask people whether they got the money from. the interview that was in the times was very much about the oligarchs, the headline, we are coming after you. it'll be interesting to see what substance thatis interesting to see what substance that is behind us because what we have to remember, was of oligarchs, many one football club sea and are legitimate foot business people here. —— and are legitimate football people here. people who have been

watching the mcmafia cds on the bbc will know that there are people conducting affairs in an unlawful way. i was speaking to a cab driver on the way here who said, you would these applies to many people there are leading a double life. archaeologists in egypt have unveiled the newly discovered tomb of an ancient priestess that dates back 4,400 years. the tomb, found near cairo, is adorned with well—preserved and rare wall paintings depicting the priestess, hetpet, in a variety of scenes. duncan kennedy reports. discovered near the pyramid of giza south of cairo, the tomb was found under 300 cubic metres of earth. archaeologists were astonished to see how well preserved the paintings on the wall of the l—shaped room were. they depict a high priestess, hetpet, in a variety of settings. she's seen in hunting and fishing scenes and receiving offerings from children. hetpet was known to be a priestess to the goddess of fertility, hathor,

who assisted women in childbirth. finding hetpet‘s tomb is being seen as an important and rare addition to our understanding of the structure of egyptian royal life 4,000 years ago. we believe that she lived during the fifth dynasty which means 2400 bc. the tomb has preserved its colours. she was a high official and she had a strong link with the royal palace. the tomb contains scenes of music and dancing performances. going into the afterlife was a moment of celebration as well as sadness. archaeologists say they have only discovered about 40% of what lies beneath the surface of this site around giza. but this lavish burial chamber with its vivid artwork dedicated to the life of one woman is another revelation of this ancient civilisation. duncan kennedy, bbc news.

lady gaga has cancelled the last ten dates of the european leg of her world tour because of severe pain. shows in london, and manchester, are among those affected. in a statement posted on twitter, she said she was devastated but needed to put herself and well—being first. the singer has fibromyalgia, a long—term condition that can cause pain all over the body. some of our fans have travelled from as far as brazil and denmark to see her on her uk dates and that is appointed. —— and are disappointed. i have saved money all year for this. with the way it carts all —— it hurts so much, i don't blame her. you are going to see all the dates now cancelled ? you are going to see all the dates

now cancelled? yes. this is her health and more important than my pleasure to see her on stage. i prefer to know that she is taking ca re of prefer to know that she is taking care of herself and getting well. so, yeah, and quite sad, but it's 0k. my 0k. my colleague has been speaking to the entertainmentjournalist caroline frost to get her thoughts on lady gaga was my decision. she is one of those artists who gives her all and is a very dedicated, creative person in a way that not many pop stars can say. clearly, that comes at a bit of a cost and some perfectionism. but we have had doctors orders, fibromyalgia affected her last year, and it is not to be played with. it isa and it is not to be played with. it is a huge scene for lots of people but medical treatment has to happen. the decision clearly won't have been taken the decision clearly won't have been ta ken lightly. the decision clearly won't have been taken lightly. he able to give us any sense of what kind of bill might

be attacked for cancelling his concerts? she isn't the first. a dell had to cancel her concert at wembley stadium last year. much to the detriment of many, many fans. disappointed. in terms of compensation, we know that tickets will be refund on. that is clear and straightforward. —— tickets will be refund. what we're talking about is hotel bills and flights. in terms of logistics, these top a list artists will be heavily insured. the conversation that will have to start happening is about whether this was a pre—existing condition, to what extent a pre—existing condition, to what exte nt la dy a pre—existing condition, to what extent lady gaga will be liable. i am sure lawyers on both sides will be looking at small print. you mentioned the dell. i wonder how rare it is for the performer to cancel a tour or postpone a series

of concerts. —— you mentioned adele. we have had a few examples in recent yea rs. we have had a few examples in recent years. adele was a big name. we notice when it is a world—class artist. somebody like peter kay has cancelled his entire performance, and that made headlines just because of the sheer numbers of people involved and the wealth of disappointment. it is a price that you disappointment. it is a price that y°u pay disappointment. it is a price that you pay for loving these artists so dearly. when you don't get to see them, you take it very personally. caroline frost there. time for a look at the weather with tomasz schafernaker. in most parts of the country today, the weather was dreadful. grey, cold, dark, really awful day with some outbreaks of rain.